Albert I Fincher was born 9 Nov 1922 in Holyoke, Phillips County, Colorado to Ira F Fincher (b. 18 Jul 1883 in Downing, Schuyler County, Missouri; d. 9 Aug 1963 (aged 80) in Akron, Colorado) and Hattie Belle Sears (b. 16 Dec 1895 in Colorado; d. Aug 1975 (aged 79), Akron, Colorado). Both parents are buried in Akron Cemetery: Ira, Bl. 5, Sec. 13, Lot 37, Sp. 2 and Hattie Bl. 5, Sec. 13, Lot 37, Sp. 1.
Albert I Fincher died 15 May 2007 (aged 84) in Raton, Colfax County, New Mexico and was buried in Akron Cemetery, Washington County, Colorado.
Albert served in the United States Army during World War II in the South Pacific, Mindanao, Philippines with the CBs. His rank was TEC4*. He was wounded in action with shrapnel that took half his kneecap. He struggled with this the rest of his life.
He was married [after 1945, date unavailable] to Mary Jean Chadwick. She was b. 19 Oct 1927 in Otis, Washington County, Colorado; d. 31 Dec 2014 (aged 87) in Michigan. Her parents were Joy Ellsworth Chadwick (b. 21 Jan 1877; d. 30 Apr 1949, aged 72) and Saxie Luella Church (b. 3 Dec 1902 in Beardsley, Minnesota; d. 30 Dec 1989 in Yuma, Colorado, buried in Otis Cemetery).
He farmed near Akron and Montrose Colorado. He trained and raced thoroughbred and quarter horses and was a miner in the summers for several years in Buena Vista, Chaffee County, Colorado and Uravan** near Montrose, Montrose County, Colorado.
Albert and Mary Jean lived and farmed in Olathe Colorado until 1967 when they moved to California. First they lived in Oro Grande, Calif. Later he lived in Colville Washington then he moved to Raton New Mexico for the remaing 20 years of his life.
Mary Jean worked as a secretary for a hardware supply chain and a large school district in Oro Grande Calif. The last 10 years she lived in Michigan with her daughter Bonita and son-in-law Cliff Miller.
- Thanks to Bonita Miller for supplying information for this obituary.
*Technician Fourth Grade (abbreviated as T/4 or TEC4) was one of three United States Army technician ranks established on January 8, 1942, during World War II. Those who held this rank were often addressed as Sergeant. Technicians possessed specialized skills that were rewarded with a higher pay grade. These skills could be directly related to combat, such as those skills possessed by a tank driver or combat engineer, or skills possessed by those in support functions such as cooks or mechanics. Depending on his or her function, he or she might be called upon by an officer to command a group of men for a specific task. They were non-commissioned officers, as were sergeants. Initially, they shared the same insignia but on September 4, 1942, the three technician ranks were distinguished by a block "T" imprinted below the standard chevrons. Unofficial insignia using a technical specialty symbol instead of the T was used in some units.
**Uravan is an abandoned uranium mining town in western Montrose County, Colorado, United States, that is now a Superfund site. The town was a company town established by U. S. Vanadium Corporation in 1936 to extract the rich vanadium ore in the region.